Yan Tinghao, that foolish fellow, actually trotted over, his voice muffled as he asked,
"My lord, why didn't you tell me the truth?
Do you not trust me?"
Suspecting that Lu Mingxuan or Ling Han had been too talkative, Lin Qingge, while lamenting that 'a man's mouth is a devil's tool,' put on a show of reluctant difficulty and said earnestly,
"Constable Yan, I trust your person, but I don't trust your mouth. Is that acceptable?"
As the last word fell, Lin Qingge firmly closed the outhouse door. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Yan Tinghao, snubbed, pouted aggrievedly,
"What's wrong with my mouth?
My father said my mouth is the most discreet!
Whatever secret enters my ears will never reach a third person!"
"Get lost—!"
At the same time.
During the morning court that day, the Fourth Prince angered His Majesty by illegally accumulating wealth among the populace. Though his princely title wasn't revoked, he was confined to a manor outside the capital for three years.
Originally, the highest contenders were the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince. Now, both Prince Wu Cheng and the Fourth Prince were under house arrest.
The Second Prince was infamous, and the Eighth Prince lacked presence.
Thus, Feng Qingchen, who was close to the Crown Prince, saw his standing rise significantly.
Conversely, his workload also increased.
His attendants, sporting dark circles under their eyes from late nights, noticed that their lord's temper was becoming more frequent.
It had escalated from once every two days to once every two hours.
Consequently, whenever he waited outside the morning court, he was filled with anxiety, fearing his lord would have a manic episode, offend His Majesty, be dragged out and beheaded, and he would subsequently lose his livelihood.
Fortunately, the attendant's worries were unfounded.
His lord rarely spoke in court, but when he did, someone was bound to suffer.
Furthermore, due to the Emperor's poor health, he seldom attended court unless there was a major matter.
Thus, rumors began to spread throughout the capital.
They said that Feng Qingchen, the Minister of Personnel acting as interim Prime Minister, was ambitious, blinded His Majesty, monopolized imperial power, and harbored intentions of rebellion.
To this, Feng Qingchen himself responded: Damn all of them for only wagging their tongues. As long as they could free him from this endless cycle of ceaseless labor, he wouldn't mind giving up his official post; he'd even pay them money, and send his ink-grinding attendant along with it!
Attendant: ...
Setting aside Feng Qingchen's hysteria, back at the Changzhou County yamen, Lin Qingge returned to her room after doing her morning business.
As she had been sleeping relatively late these past few nights, she had resumed sleeping in the side room next to the master bedroom.
To prevent that silly deer Yan Tinghao from sneaking in at night, she had been sleeping fully clothed these past two days.
Stretching widely, Lin Qingge bolted the room door from the inside and prepared to change. As she unfastened her collar, an exquisitely embroidered sachet fell from her embrace.
After staring at the unfamiliar sachet for a long time, she suddenly slapped her forehead.
This must have been what Tang Wan'er had slipped into her embrace when she left last night, something said to be extremely important, even crucial to the survival of Great Xia.
However, women giving men sachets often had a meaning behind it.
So, did Tang Wan'er genuinely like her supposed elder brother?
With a sigh of wistfulness, Lin Qingge curiously picked up the sachet from the floor and sat down at the table.
When she took out the contents and unfolded them, she raised her eyebrows in surprise.
It was a very old piece of sheepskin, about the size of her palm.
Lin Qingge immediately raised the sheepskin to eye level.
As expected.
With her line of sight level with the sheepskin, she saw a map drawn upon it.
She took out the sheepskin she had found in the haunted house earlier and compared the two.
Both the texture and the method of drawing the patterns were identical.
However, the two pieces of sheepskin in her hand had no connecting points.
"Good heavens, could this sheepskin be like the Forty-Two Chapters Sutra, with many more pieces?"
Lin Qingge muttered her doubts, carefully putting away the two pieces of sheepskin.
"The wealthy merchant Qian Wanbai's entire family was wiped out overnight, and the family of Grand Master of Ceremonies Tang Youwei was also annihilated overnight.
Their commonality was that they each possessed such a piece of sheepskin.
In other words, the group that massacred them overnight must be the same one.
That group was investigating the whereabouts of the sheepskin fragments and, in a spirit of 'rather be shattered jade than intact tile,' they ruthlessly exterminated anyone who might possess a sheepskin fragment, even if they couldn't find the map fragment itself. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them insane.
Wait.
Doesn't that mean that I, who possess two sheepskin fragments, am also in imminent danger?"
With this thought, Lin Qingge's eyes darted around, and she hid the two sheepskin fragments in an even safer place.
Several days of peaceful life passed.
Although she didn't know when the next Changzhou County magistrate would take office, or if there even would be one.
Lin Qingge, using her connections with Xu Changling, had transferred Yan Tinghao and Er Niu's constable positions to the Fengtian Prefecture yamen. She also changed Ling Han and Lu Mingxuan's detention location from the yamen to the prefecture office, and she even planned to take Xiao Hei along.
As for Hua Jinrong and Murong Bai, strictly speaking, the scribe and the coroner were not official positions within the yamen, but rather what would be called external personnel in her previous life.
Therefore, as long as they were willing, they could go anywhere.
In response, Hua Jinrong stated that he also had business in Fengtian Prefecture and was very willing to continue serving his lord.
Murong Bai said that he encountered cases more frequently when following Lord Lin. Moreover, the Fengtian Prefecture yamen was so vast, and Lord Lin's family of three living there would seem too lonely. If he could be allocated a courtyard with Qin Han, he was willing to continue assisting Lord Lin with cases at the honest price of ten taels of silver per corpse.
However, he would likely be unable to balance his responsibilities with the academy.
Therefore, he could only trouble Lord Lin to find someone else.
Upon hearing this news, Lin Moyuan seized the opportunity and recommended himself.
Feeling that the other party had ulterior motives and that she possessed evidence, Lin Qingge, despite her immense reluctance, could not find a suitable candidate at the moment.
With the strong recommendation of Elder Su, she reluctantly agreed.
"Alas—"
Yan Tinghao, noticing his lord sighing more than twenty times in less than half a day, couldn't help but speak up,
"My lord, if you are worried about Madam, why not go to the academy to take a look?"
Lin Qingge, feeling that Lin Moyuan's intentions were as obvious as day even to a fool, let out another sigh of helplessness. Just as she was about to say something, Xiao Hei, who was guarding the door, barked.
Lin Qingge, with nothing else to do, stopped Yan Tinghao and went out herself.
But when she saw the slender, exquisitely beautiful man in green standing at the door, his eyes sparkling, Lin Qingge froze on the spot.
As if the other party also recognized her, he spoke with a hint of surprise and uncertainty,
"Lin... Qingge?"